Would you shave your head for free tickets? Some dedicated ‘Bugonia’ fans just did

Emma Stone’s latest reteaming with Yorgos Lanthimos, Bugonia, is attracting huge acclaim for its zany and darkly comedic elements — common trademarks among the Greek filmmaker’s work.

Though it is the latest marketing attempt from Focus Features, the film’s production studio, which has become the talk of the town.

Enticing eager fans with an early opportunity to catch Bugonia, the studio recently hosted an interesting screening where entrance was granted on the basis of who was willing to go bald for it — mirroring an onscreen arc for Stone’s character.

What happened

In the film, Emma Stone plays a CEO named Michelle Fuller, who is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorist cousins when they become convinced that she is an alien, inclined to destroy the Earth. The culprits proceed to shave her head to make sure that she can’t communicate with her extraterrestrial peers.

To promote the film, Bugonia’s producers arranged a real life scenario which challenging moviegoers to shed their tresses as well.

The Hollywood Reporter shared that “fans could attend a free, early screening in Culver City on October 20 if they were already bald or shaved their heads for entry.”

While many daredevils went through with the quirky requirement, the crowds later learned that since the shaving was taking too long, the rest of them were simply given bald caps to wear during the screening.

According to NME, “Videos have circulated online of people getting their head shaved for the event, although other pictures appear to show people were permitted to enter wearing bald caps.”

Fan reactions

Discussing Film on X (formerly known as Twitter), shared footage of audiences getting their heads shaved at the screening.

One fan in attendance, Sam Sherman from LA, was quoted by Reuters as saying, “I was already thinking of shaving my head. I saw, like, a post about this and I was like, that’s a perfect excuse because I want to see ‘Bugonia’ anyway and I get to see it two weeks early or whatever it is, and then I get a free haircut and a free movie. It’s hard to say no to that.”

While another, named Richard Chong, shared, “I like the director. I think he’s really good, very weird and my friends hate my bowl cut, so this is for them, also my wife, she really hates it.”

Emma Stone says: ‘It’s just a good time’

Emma Stone also caught a whiff of the latest stunt from her film’s marketing team. She told THR during Bugonia’s premiere in New York, “I just assume that it’s people who already wanted to shave their heads and were like, ‘OK, I could just do that at home or I could just see a movie right after,’ you know what I mean. It’s a good time. It’s just a good time if you’re already wanting to shave your head.”

While Yorgos Lanthimos admitted that he initially didn’t think the challenge would become “popular”, however after its success, he thought that “it was fun to see.”